EEJ Presentation for the 181st CFMC Regular Meeting

NOAA Fisheries EEJ Strategy

Objectives

1. Equity in research and monitoring

2. Incorporation of EEJ into policies and plans

3. Inclusive governance

4. Equitable distribution of benefits

5. Equitable outreach and engagement

6. Empowering environment

Public Feedback: Who Responded

Public Feedback: Do Stakeholders Support the Strategy?

Public Feedback - Key Messages

● Align NMFS work with local needs

● Engage with more diverse groups

● Support autonomy ofTerritorial andTribal governments

● Collect demographic data

○ Fisheries, council, agency

● Measure success by feedback from communities

● Concern with catch shares, aquaculture, and protected species

● Implementation recommendations

○ Communicate early and often with stakeholders

○ Work with the Council and other agencies

○ Support capacity for EEJ work

Public Feedback - Key Messages from SE

Stakeholders

● Council support ranged from enthusiastic to measured

● Data, data, data

● Need boots on the ground

○ Spend more time on the docks

○ Work with and financially support councils, states, and other liaisons who are already well positioned to advance outreach and engagement objectives

● Improve accessibility to Fisheries Finance Program and other federal funds

● Support and expand training programs like Marine Resources Education Program, Gulf Commercial Fishermen’s Program

● Ensure equitable Council representation - underserved populations and fishing sectors

● Show me the money!

NOAA Fisheries’ EEJ Strategy

● Framework to incorporate EEJ into our daily activities

● Requires step-down implementation plans at the regional level

● Seeks to remove barriers to EEJ ● Seeks to promote equity in all we do

NMFS

EEJ Working Group Forms

Process and Plans: Our National and Southeast Regional Timeline

Preliminary Community Input

Public Feedback

Analyze Public Feedback and Finalize EEJ Strategy

Incorporate Broad EEJ Strategies in Draft SE Geographic Strategic Plan

EEJ Strategy Internal Review

Solicit and Receive Funding For Rollout and Focus Groups

We are here

Conduct Focus Groups

Analyze Data and Draft Specific Regional Implementation Strategies

Focus Groups

One of a suite of ethnographic methods used to consult and collect data from local stakeholders

● Bring together a small group of people selected based on predefined experience or knowledge in order to answer questions in a moderated setting designed to shed light on a topic of interest

● Each will include up to 15 stakeholders from underserved communities that are impacted by our work to help us understand how to advance our 6 national EEJ objectives in the Southeast

TentativePlan for Caribbean Focus Groups

Puerto Rico

May 8-12, 2023

St. Croix ○ St.Thomas / St. John

June 5-9, 2023

○ Cibuco

Fajardo ○ Ponce

Cabo Rojo

National Strategy and Regional Implementation

National Strategy Rollout

Fishery Bulletin

English

Spanish

Vietnamese

French (?)

Council presentations

Gulf -April

Caribbean -April ○ SouthAtlantic - June

Regional Implementation Strategy

● 21 Focus Group meetings

○

○

Caribbean: 6

Gulf: 6

○ SouthAtlantic: 7

○ South Florida: 2

● Council coordination (CCC reps)

● Other internal and external partners

Basic Needs To Accomplish the EEJ Strategy

● Staff training, time, and training

● Community liaisons

● Demographic data collection, analysis, and reporting

● Collaboration with partners and other agencies ● Language translation services

Example SE-Specific Strategies

Research and Monitoring: Expand collection of demographic data; incorporate indigenous traditional or local ecological knowledge into the data and information supporting our work

Policies and Plans: Continue reviewing EEJ impacts of management decisions using indicators; evaluate and address fairness and equity issues in catch share programs, disaster response protocols

Inclusive Governance: Hire multilingual staff in Permits Office; offer simultaneous interpretation services for Gulf and SouthAtlantic Council meetings; expand the Marine Resources Education Program

Benefits: Improve accessibility of regional grants processes (design, recruitment, review, selection processes)

Communication and Outreach: Translate permit applications and all other relevant materials to appropriate primary languages; use web and Google analytics data to increase accessibility to online materials; update or develop new communication plans and strategies based on targeted feedback from underserved communities

Empowering Environment:Address personnel needs - biologists for the Caribbean and anthropologists for all regions; organize regional workshop with federal partners to share information/lessons learned and leverage resources; support scholarship/internship opportunities for local residents

We need your input

● What are you thoughts on the tentative dates and locations of the Caribbean EEJ Focus Groups?

● Do you have other suggestions for engaging partners and communities in developing Southeast-specific implementation strategies?

● How can you inform that work?

● How can we best collaborate in developing our regional implementation plan?

THANK YOU!

EXTRA SLIDES

Key Terms: Equity

Equity means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment.

Definition from Executive Order 13985.

Key Terms: Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies including but not limited to:

● Equitable protection from environmental and health hazards

● Equitable access to decision-making processes

● Equitable opportunity for disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized

Definition from the Environmental ProtectionAgency.

Key Terms: Underserved Communities

Underserved communities have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life.

These include geographic communities as well as populations sharing a particular characteristic such as: women and girls; Black, Latino, and Indigenous and NativeAmerican persons*,AsianAmericans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color; persons facing discrimination or barriers related to gender identity; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.

Definition based on Executive Order 13985